American Fork girls qualifies for quarter finals after beating Cottonwood by almost 20 points
American Fork's Bryanna Adams, center, cheers on players during a time out during the first half against Cottonwood in the first round of the 5a girls state basketball tournament at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville on Monday, Feb. 18, 2013.
American Fork's Casidy Fraughton protects the ball from defenders during the second half against Cottonwood in the first round of the 5a girls state basketball tournament at Salt Lake Community College on Monday.
American Fork players cheer during the second half against Cottonwood in the first round of the 5a girls state basketball tournament at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville on Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. American Fork won, 53-37.
American Fork's Ashley Baugh drives the ball to the basket during the second half against Cottonwood in the first round of the 5a girls state basketball tournament at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville on Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. American Fork won
American Fork's Amy Bergeson, left, congratulates Jaylee Shepherd on a basket during the first half against Cottonwood in the first round of the 5a girls state basketball tournament at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville on Monday, Feb. 18, 2013.
TAYLORSVILLE — The American Fork girls basketball team used tough defense and good ball movement to beat Cottonwood, 53-37, in the first round of the 5A girls basketball tournament Monday afternoon at Salt Lake Community College.
The Cavemen set the tone early, suffocating the Colt offense while attacking with crisp passes to build a 12-1 advantage in the first quarter. Four players scored during the early assault, destroying Cottonwood’s attempt to run a box-and-one on senior guard Cassidy Fraughton.
“They tried to contain her right out of the box, but we have other kids you can’t not guard,” said American Fork coach Corey Clayton. “Fortunately, they stepped up and forced them to abandon that approach.”
Although he said his team made some errors later on, the coach was very pleased with the defensive effort for the first quarter and a half.
“At first, we played really good, butt-down defense with very effective deny,” he said. “We got a little reachy after that. You’ve got to be able to put pressure on people without fouls, but it’s nice to get this one out of the way. The nerves should be gone by Wednesday.”
The Colts made a couple of runs in the game and pulled within six points twice, but that was a close as they ever got. Every time they made a play, the Cavemen had an answer. Cottonwood trailed by nine t the break and 12 at the end of the third period.
Despite the Colt efforts to slow her down, Fraughton burned the nets for a game-high 22 points, along with four assists, three rebounds and six steals.
“Cassidy’s a good player,” Clayton said. “She does everything for us. She leads the team in points, rebounds, steals and assists. There was one game she had to sit out, and we missed all the things she does.”
The contest marked the return of senior win Ashley Baugh, who had been sidelined with an injury for two months. Even in limited action, she had an impact on the game, contributing seven points, four boards , three blocks, a steal and an assist, along with numerous deflections.
“She’s just been chomping at the bit,” Clayton said. “She’s not 100 percent, but she brings tenacity, toughness and a little bit of attitude to the court that we can use.
“You didn’t see who she really is today. As her confidence comes back, you’ll see more of what she’s capable of.”
In Baugh’s absence, Fraughton has had to come to the forefront as a leader in a major way, and that was very evident in this game, especially when American Fork unraveled a bit after the strong start.
“I just told the girls to calm down, slow down and spread out,” Fraughton said. “They were beating us off the dribble, but I said we just needed to talk, box out and then push the ball up the floor.”
Admitting it has been really hard to have hre longtime teammate and friend on the bench, Fraughton added that it was “so, so nice” to have Baugh back on the court.”
“We need Ashley’s length and her energy,” Fraughton said. “While she was out, I just tried to keep my teammates up and moving forward.”
Sophomore forward Maile Richardson had a really solid outing with eight points, three rebounds, five blocks and a steal, while senior guard Bryanna Adams scored eight points with six boards. Amy Bergeson had three assists and three rebounds.
Kari Uncles led Cottonwood with 12 points and Nicole Christensen added 11. The Colts ended their season at 13-8.
The Cavemen (18-5) will face Fremont (12-10) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals. The Silver Wolves upset Region 2 champion Viewmont 46-45 in overtime to advance.
COTTONWOOD (37): Dark 4, Uncles 12, Kristensen 11, Brady 7, Jorgensen 1, Bromley 2. Totals 12 11-16 37.
AMERICAN FORK (53): Adams 8, Baught 7, Fraughton 22, shepherd 3, Eliason 2, E.Bergeson 3, Richardson 8. Totals 17 16-26 53.
Cottonwood 1 13 13 10 — 37
American Fork 12 11 16 14 — 53
3-point goals: Cottonwood 2 (Uncles 2), American Fork 3 (Fraughton, Shepherd, E.Bergeson).
Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com. Follow her on Twitter at @BeatonWrite.